Coen plays on without No. 1 fan

[UNHWildCats]

By Marty Dobrow, Globe Correspondent | October 14, 2006

AMHERST -- Liam Coen stood on the sideline, a portrait of serenity. His blond hair matted with sweat, his helmet to his hip, Coen soaked in the scene last Saturday: a sparkling autumn afternoon, a hint of crispness in the air, maples firing, almost 16,000 people in the stands, his father and grandfather among them.

His University of Massachusetts team was already up on William & Mary, 45-7, and Coen's work was done. It had been another day at the office, efficient and lethal. He had thrown the ball 17 times, completing 12, for 275 yards and a touchdown.

Coen had proved himself yet again a master of moving forward. Composed and quietly confident, he had dissected the Tribe defense. There was nothing he liked better than figuring out the geometry of the game -- looking at this stunt, that blitz, this package, and figuring out what to do. It was all about adaptation. Always, the question was: Given this, now what?

http://www.boston.com/sports/college...hout_no_1_fan/

[Old Cage]

For those who don't know the writer, he is very special to UMass fans.

Marty Dobrow lives in The Valley and covered UMass sports during the basketball glory years. He is the author of "Going Big Time", a chronicle of our rise to the hoops Final Four.

Among other efforts, he now reports on some games and writes outstanding feature stories as a Globe correspondent.

[umassfan]

This is a must read for all football fans... All I can say is WOW... a well writen story about a great person and player.

[umassfan]

I want to bump this up incase anyone hasnt had the chance to read this piece. It is worth your time.

[Maverick]

Umassfan,
Here is an example of guilt by association in the case of you trying to promote something. Based on the lack of respect for you on this board, this outstanding article about an outstanding young man who plays football at UMass will not get the look it as well as Liam deserves. This was my point earlier about the damage done with your wasted earth approach. Please keep this in mind when you post in the future.

I can only hope that some others will take the time to read this article as it is more about the quality of the human spirit that is manifested in this sport we love so much.